Bina Equestrian Center

Overview

Bina Equestrian Center is an equestrian venue in Bina, in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, and a recurring host of the country’s top chovqan competitions. It has hosted editions of the Chovqan World Championship, the final of the President’s Chovqan Cup, the Chovqan Super Cup final, and the General Assembly that established the International Chovgan Federation. Chovqan is a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game played by two mounted teams (AzerNews; AzerNews; AzerNews; BakuInform).

The game Bina stages is older than the venue’s modern tournament calendar. Chovqan is the predecessor of modern polo, a game historians believe was born in the middle of the first millennium and was popular for centuries in Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Central Asia and neighbouring countries (National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO). It spread through the Great Silk Road to India, reached Europe in the twelfth century, and was given the name polo by the British, who included it in the Paris Olympic Games of 1900 (National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO). Played between two teams mounted on Garabagh horses, it is regarded as the ancestor of modern polo and was historically played during festive celebrations and holidays (AzerNews). Each team fields five riders, two defenders and three attackers, who use wooden mallets to strike a small leather or wooden ball, with a standard game lasting 30 minutes (AzerNews). On 3 December 2013, chovqan was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, a recognition that frames why a single Baku venue now carries so much of the sport’s international calendar (National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO).

Chovqan World Championship host

Bina Equestrian Center has hosted more than one edition of the Chovqan World Championship, the sport’s flagship national-team event. One edition kicked off at the centre with teams from ten countries, an opening ceremony featuring the National Anthem of Azerbaijan, a horse parade of the participating teams and a colourful show, and was due to end on 16 June (AzerNews). The first vice president of the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation, Basirat Guliyev, addressed that opening, stressing the championship’s importance for horse breeding and athlete training, while the federation’s general secretary, Bahruz Nabiyev, said chovqan is not only a sport but part of Azerbaijan’s ancient history (AzerNews). A further edition was staged at Bina from 7 to 13 June, with Azerbaijan joined by Poland and Malta from Europe, Nigeria and Ghana from Africa, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from Asia, and Uruguay and Chile from South America, while Kuwait joined as a special invitee announced by the International Chovqan Federation (AzerNews).

President’s Cup and Super Cup finals

Bina’s indoor arena has staged the decisive matches of Azerbaijan’s domestic chovqan cups. The final match and award ceremony of the 12th President’s Chovqan Cup, organised by the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation, took place in the centre’s indoor arena, opening with the National Anthem of Azerbaijan and performances by the Exemplary Military Orchestra of the State Border Service, a dance ensemble and well-known artists (AzerNews). Six teams entered that tournament, with the first- and second-placed teams in the groups advancing to the semi-finals; in the third-place match Sarhadchi defeated Embavud 2-1, and in the final Elit overcame Polad 3-2 to become champion (AzerNews). Bina also hosted the final of the Chovqan Super Cup, organised by the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation, in which Sarhadchi beat Elit 1-0 to take the title, with the trophy presented by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Farid Gayibov, and the federation’s president, Elchin Guliyev (AzerNews).

Founding assembly of the International Chovgan Federation

Bina also hosted the meeting that gave chovqan its first international federation. The General Assembly on the establishment of the International Chovgan Federation kicked off in Baku with 19 countries from all continents, and was due first to approve the format of the organisation’s statutes before electing its president and vice president (AJMEDIA English). The assembly took place at the Bina Equestrian Center, with 29 delegates from 19 nations taking part, and heard from Elchin Guliyev, president of the Equestrian Federation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Farid Gayibov, Minister of Youth and Sports, and Chingiz Huseynzade, vice president of the National Olympic Committee (BakuInform). At the meeting the federation’s charter was reviewed and the creation of committees and regional groups was discussed; Bahruz Nabiyev was elected president and Poland’s Maciej Michel Olbrich general secretary (BakuInform). Nabiyev called the event a milestone, saying it was the first time an international federation of the sport had been established in Azerbaijan (AJMEDIA English).

Event hosted at Bina	What the sources confirm	Result or outcome
Chovqan World Championship (edition ending 16 June)	Ten national teams; opening ceremony with anthem, horse parade and show	Edition dates given without a year in the fetched source
Chovqan World Championship (edition of 7-13 June)	Teams from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, plus Kuwait as special invitee	Edition dates given without a year in the fetched source
12th President’s Chovqan Cup	Six teams; final and award ceremony in the indoor arena	Elit beat Polad 3-2; Sarhadchi beat Embavud 2-1 for third
Chovqan Super Cup final (January 2025)	Organised by the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation	Sarhadchi beat Elit 1-0
General Assembly, International Chovgan Federation	29 delegates from 19 nations; charter reviewed; committees and regional groups discussed	Bahruz Nabiyev elected president; Maciej Michel Olbrich elected general secretary

Source: AzerNews; AzerNews; AzerNews; AzerNews; BakuInform.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Bina Equestrian Center? Bina Equestrian Center is an equestrian venue in Bina, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Reporting on its tournaments consistently places it in Baku, and it is the venue the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation uses for the country’s leading chovqan events.

What is chovqan? Chovqan is a traditional Karabakh horse-riding game and the predecessor of modern polo. Two teams of five riders, two defenders and three attackers, ride Garabagh horses and use wooden mallets to strike a small leather or wooden ball, with a standard game lasting 30 minutes.

Which World Championship editions has Bina hosted? Bina has hosted at least two Chovqan World Championship editions documented in the sources: one with ten national teams that ended on 16 June, and another staged from 7 to 13 June with teams from four continents plus Kuwait as a special invitee. The fetched sources do not display years for either edition.

Who won the President’s Chovqan Cup final at Bina? In the 12th President’s Chovqan Cup, whose final and award ceremony were held in Bina’s indoor arena, Elit beat Polad 3-2 in the final. Sarhadchi took third place, beating Embavud 2-1 in the third-place match. The six-team tournament was organised by the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation.

What happened at Bina for the International Chovgan Federation? Bina hosted the General Assembly on the establishment of the International Chovgan Federation, attended by 29 delegates from 19 nations. The assembly reviewed the federation’s charter, discussed committees and regional groups, and elected Bahruz Nabiyev president and Maciej Michel Olbrich general secretary.

What this profile does not claim

• It does not give the venue’s founding date, capacity, arena dimensions, stabling, or visitor facilities; no source read in full supplied them.
• It does not assign years to the two World Championship editions, the 12th President’s Chovqan Cup, or the federation assembly, because the fetched source pages did not display publication dates for those reports.
• It does not claim the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation is headquartered at Bina; the sources confirm only that the federation organises events there.
• It does not claim Bina hosted any particular edition of the President’s Cup other than the 12th, or any World Championship edition beyond the two documented here.
• It does not rely on the BakuInform report’s machine-translated sentences that say “chess” where the context requires chovgan.
• It does not assert that the venue is still hosting events after the latest sourced event; the most recent dated event in the sources is the January 2025 Super Cup final.